4 minute read
The Vital Role of the MU's Section for Theatre-based Musicians
Put it down to the impact of Hamilton or the appeal of a live experience in the age of the smartphone, but all evidence suggests that musical theatre is in the rudest health of the decade. Last year, West End theatres announced record box-office takings of £766m (up 8.6%), with all-time-high audiences of 15.5 million happy to pay an average £53.27 for tickets for musicals. The picture was bright across the UK, too, with regional theatres reporting revenues of £510m (up 8.4%). “There are reasons to be cheerful,” agrees Dave Webster, MU National Organiser of the Theatre Section. “One of the most exciting things is to be in the theatre and see it all happening live onstage, right in front of you.”
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Dave Webster
But with more shows in production, more players in the pit, more cash in the tills – and the creep of technology threatening the livelihoods of theatre musicians – it’s arguably never been more important for workers in the sector to be represented and protected. As one of the dedicated Union bodies offering guidance and support to members in specific industries, the Theatre Section liaises with member musicians, producers, theatre venues, councils and government to ensure that rights ranging from pay to working conditions adhere to the MU-negotiated UK Theatre Agreements.
Shows such as West Side Story at the Royal Exchange, Manchester have enjoyed sell-out runs.
© Richard Davenport
“Without us and without these Agreements it would be the Wild West out there,” says Dave. “Producers would be able to hire and fire, pay as little as they like. The theatre sector is a dangerous place to be if there isn’t union regulation and representation.”
Terms and conditions
Chiefly focused on the UK’s touring musicians – there’s a dedicated sub-Committee and separate Agreement for London’s West End musicians – the Theatre Section is a true democracy, with up to 20 industry-hardened MU members sitting on the Committee and getting involved with duties ranging from negotiating with producers to lobbying local councils. At the core of the Section’s wide remit, explains Dave, is improving and enforcing the UK Theatre Agreement that sets out the minimum terms under which touring and static regional theatre show musicians may be employed. “We’re currently in the middle of a three-year agreement with UK Theatre so, come 2021, we’ll be renegotiating. After we’ve finished, we’ll present the terms to our members to vote on – and they’ll either tell us they’re happy, or we’ll go back and seek further improvements.”
Once the drafting of the current agreement is completed it will be available on the MU website. “We’re obviously trying to get the money as good as possible,” says Dave. “But we’ve also negotiated terms and benefits to be included in the Agreement, such as pension provision, health and safety, sick pay and family-friendly allowances – you know, what happens if you need compassionate leave or you’re having a child and you’re out on tour? One of the longer-term challenges has been making sure that the subsistence and touring allowances are right for our members. Alongside our colleagues at Equity we’ve made significant improvements in the past few years. The key thing is that musicians shouldn’t be dipping into their hard-earned wages to be able to eat and sleep.”
Off the record
An increasingly relevant clause in the Agreement, continues Dave, pushes back against the use of recorded music in shows. “It’s a big problem for us. We’ve worked protections into our agreements around the use of recordings. And we had a very public campaign against a show, Dirty Dancing, which reduced the band, and also replaced some of the original band with recordings. Unfortunately, that show went ahead, but we made a very public statement about it, and the producers had to leave UK Theatre, because, in our view, they had breached the terms of the agreement.”
With the Agreement in place, MU Live Performance Official Kelly Wood reports that most musicians are able to focus on the job at hand. “Most of our members are just getting on and doing it, because if they know they’re working under our Agreement with UK Theatre, I think they feel quite safe and protected. If they know the producer is a UK Theatre member, they just think, ‘Well, it’ll be fine’ – and the Agreement acts as a safety net. But if they run into any problems, they can let us know.”
The Theatre Section is driven by feedback from musicians on the ground, and with MU Regional Offices across the UK, Officials regularly visit venues, meet informally with players and identify issues as they arise. If parties don’t honour the Agreement, says Dave, the Union can take action.
“Generally, if we’ve got an issue with a member of the trade organisations we work with, we’ll resolve it through our relationships. There’s a conciliation process we can call on, and we can industrially negotiate something that’s gone wrong. There’s a disciplinary and grievance procedure built into the Agreements, but they’re not invoked very often, which is great. It’s a valuable relationship on both sides. The global financial crisis has impacted everyone, and it’s a delicate balance. We need these theatres to be open and working economically, so our members can work and earn a living.”
The bigger picture
When bigger issues arise, the Theatre Section wields an influence beyond local jurisdiction. “If needs be,” says Dave, “we’ll go all the way to the top. The European legislation on lighting regulations would have had a devastating effect on the theatre sector and we were able to help with that. Westminster wanted to change its parking regulations and charge people up until midnight, which would have had a massive effect on our members, so we lobbied hard. We had demonstrations, the West End bands came out and supported us, and in the end we were able to overturn it and Westminster didn’t impose those charges. If that happened around the country, we’d do the same thing.”
MU members needn’t pay any additional fees to benefit from the work of the Theatre Section. “It’s knowing that the help is there if you need it,” explains Natalie Witts, an experienced theatre musician and the outgoing chair of the Committee. “It’s about making sure theatre musicians are getting the right pay. There’s also support for health and safety, and even the mental health side of things. It’s just good to know that the Theatre Section is always there.”
